SOL-169-17-00002_Q&A_under_Amendment_1.pdf

Round 1 Q&A for Solicitation SOL-169-17-000002

Question 1. Section H.7(e) (p. 32) states that “One annual salary increase not more than 3 percent may be granted after the employee’s completion of each twelve month period of satisfactory services under the contract.” This restriction may preclude offerors from complying with AIDAR 752.7007, incorporated by reference in RFP Section H.6 (p.31), which states that “Direct compensation of the Contractor’s personnel will be in accordance with the Contractor’s established policies, procedures, and practices, and the cost principles applicable to this contract.” Specifying the annual salary increase that offerors can provide their staff may result in offerors deviating from AIDAR 752.7007.

We respectfully request that USAID revise the annual salary increase percentage to “to be determined,” which would allow offerors to submit cost proposals in accordance with their established policies, procedures, and practice.

USAID Response: The contract language will not be changed.

Question 2. As per the authorizing language of ADS 302.3.4.13, the Contractor shall follow ADS 303, including the established individual grant thresholds, in the implementation of the grants under contract program. We request that USAID remove the following language from section H.23 of the RFP (p. 40): “For non-U.S. organizations, there is no ceiling unless a fixed obligation grant is executed, in which case the ceiling is $100,000.”

USAID Response: The restriction has been removed.

Question 3. Section B.2 states that the type of contract is “cost plus award fee (CPAF) contract” (p.

7), and Section L.2 (p. 66) states it is “Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF) completion type contract.”

According to FAR 16.3, contracts can be either cost-plus-award-fee or cost-plus-fixed-fee completion. Can USAID please confirm that the intended contract type is CPAF?

USAID Response: The intended contract type is CPAF and the language has been amended.

Question 4. Section F.5 (p. 18) states that “The Contractor is authorized up to a five-day work week for long-term staff.” Can USAID please confirm that short-term consultants can work a six-day work week?

USAID Response: This is already covered under the current language in F.5, i.e. it can be authorized by the COR.

Question 5. Section L.5 (p. 7) states that the “proposal must be accompanied by a cover letter typed on official organizational letterhead and signed by a person who has signatory authority for the organization.” The required order of the proposal in Section L.6 (p.69) states that the “Cover Letter or Executive Summary” is “limited to two pages and does not count against page limit.” Can USAID please clarify whether an offeror may submit both a cover letter, as required in L.5, and an executive summary? And if so, are the cover letter and executive summary together limited to two pages and exempt from the overall 30-page limit?

USAID Response: The requirement is revised and the executive summary is removed. Offerors must submit a cover letter only that is limited to 2 pages and does not count against the page limit).

Question 6. Section L.5 (p. 67) states that “Offerors must submit their proposals via email to Albert Rexhepi at arexhepi@usaid.gov and Branislav Bulatovic at bbulatovic@usaid.gov by the stated closing date and time specified in the Cover Letter.” The cover letter states that the proposals are due January 18, 2017, but does not specify a time. Can USAID please provide the time that proposals are due?

USAID Response: The specified time has been added to the cover letter.

Question 7. Section L.6, page 69: Can USAID please confirm that CVs for key personnel are also excluded from the 30 page limit for the technical proposal?

USAID Response: CVs for key personnel count against the 30 page limit.

Question 8. Section L.6, page 69: Can USAID please consider allowing references for key personnel to be placed on a third page of the CV, which would not count toward the 30 page limit for the technical proposal?

USAID Response: No.

Question 9. Section L.6 (p. 69) states that “Pages that contain a table, chart, graph, etc. that are not otherwise excluded below are subject to the 30-page limitation.” Would USAID please consider allowing items necessary to demonstrate our approach, such as an organizational chart, to be exempt from the 30-page limit for the technical proposal?

USAID Response: No.

Question 10. Please confirm that section C.6.a. “The chosen sector is (to be inserted at time of award)” is correct. It appears to contradict the initial phrase of section L.6.1. paragraph 2: “Final sector selection and the value chains and specific interventions to be targeted by the Contractor’s interventions under the CSS activity will be determined through the competitive process and during the initial implementation, subject to USAID approval.” (Emphasis added).

USAID Response: Offerors must select one sector for their proposal/offer. During the evaluation, USAID will select the partner who best responds to and meets the selection criteria set forth in the RFP. The sector proposed by the successful offeror will be inserted in the contract at the time of award. Following contract award, during the value chain selection analysis and value chain selection phase (Section C.6.b), the successful offeror will select a minimum of two value chains within the selected sector and during the Baseline Assessment of Selected Value Chains and Development of Value Chain Acton Plans phase (C.6.c), the successful offeror will develop action plans that articulate the interventions to be implemented under the CSS activity.

Question 11. Section F.6.d on page 20 states that “The final PMEP must be submitted no later than 150 days after contract award.” Please confirm that Offerors are not required to submit a draft PMEP with their proposals.

USAID Response: USAID confirms that Offerors are not required to submit a draft PMEP with their proposals.

Question 12. Section L.5 (page 68) states that proposals may be submitted in MS Word, PDF, or Excel. Section L.6 (page 68) states that proposals must be submitted in MS Word. In order to comply with USAID’s preference that proposals be submitted in a single attachment for each volume, please confirm that proposals may be submitted in text-accessible PDF files.

USAID Response: Technical proposals may be submitted in PDF and the language has been amended.

Question 13. Section L.6 (page 69) indicates that CVs for key personnel must not exceed 2 pages each, and that CVs should include 3 references each. Please confirm that the 3 required references per CV are excluded from the 2 page CV limit.

USAID Response: References are not excluded from the 2 page CV limit.

Question 14. Please confirm that Offerors may submit past performance information for projects valued at or above the anticipated value of CSS Activity, in order to demonstrate their ability to “develop, manage, and implement projects of similar scope, size, and complexity,” as instructed in Section L.6.4 (page 70).

USAID Response: L.6.4 does not ask for past performance information, but for a description of an offeror’s organizational experience.

Question 15. Please clarify whether USAID will evaluate all of the Offeror’s experience that is currently listed in PPIRS, or only that which meets the same criteria as those projects for which Attachment J.6 is requested in Section L.7.d.

USAID Response: USAID reserves the right to review all past performance information that it deems as relevant.

Question 16. Please confirm that the term “fixed fee” (as used in Section L.7.b.1.iv, page 71) is equivalent to the term “base fee” (as used in Section L.7.b.1.ii, page 70-71).

USAID Response: Confirmed and the language has been amended.

Question 17. Section M.3 (page 75) indicates that non-small business Offerors will be evaluated on their past use of small business concerns as subcontractors. Please confirm that (where applicable), Offerors should submit the standard small business utilization information (narrative, SF294 information, and references) as an additional annex to their Cost Proposals.

USAID Response: Confirmed for those awards that are not in PPIRS.

Question 18. Please confirm that USAID Serbia has an existing DBA waiver.

USAID Response: Serbia does not have a DBA waiver.

Question 19. Would USAID please provide a copy of the Mission’s Local Compensation Plan?

USAID Response: The range of the current Local Compensation Plan for USAID/Serbia is from €11,099 to €63,919 (gross).

Question 20. Would USAID share the most recent available LCP for Serbia on which offerors should base their insurance and social charges?

USAID Response: Please see response to question 19.

Question 21. Section L.6: Instruction for the Preparation of the Technical Proposal (page 69) states in its required order of the technical proposal: “CV’s for Key Personnel (not to exceed 2 pages for each CV), including 3 references.” Question: Given the importance of key personnel to successful program implementation, would USAID please consider the mandated references for each candidate falling outside the two page limit set for each CV?

USAID Response: Please see response to question 13.

Question 22. Section L.6: May the offeror include a list of acronyms that does not count against the page limit?

USAID Response: A list of acronyms is not required. If an offeror chooses to include it, it will count against the page limit.

Question 23. Section L.6: Is the “Cover Letter or Executive Summary” included in the list on page 69 the same document as the cover letter referenced in the first paragraph of L.5 on page 67

USAID Response: Yes, however please note the response to question 5.

Question 24. Section L.6 covers the required order of the technical proposal, citing that ‘tables, charts, graphics not otherwise excluded are subject to the 30 page limitation.” Question: May organigrams be included as an annex to the technical proposal, outside its 30 page limit?

USAID Response: No.

Question 25. Section L.6.3 on the Staffing and Management Plan states that this ‘section must clearly discuss the approach for staffing the contract and achieving the results (e.g., the methodology the offeror intends to use when conducting the subsequent analyses and interventions). Question: Is USAID asking for a discussion of technical methodology—or of the ways and means in which the proposed staffing plan will handle subsequent analyses and interventions?

USAID Response: The language in Section L has been amended.

Question 26. Section L.6.3 on the Staffing and Management Plan asks “how the offeror intends to apply an adaptive management approach”. Question: Is USAID asking for a methodological discussion of adaptive management—or a discussion of how process and staff align?

USAID Response: The language in Section L has been amended.

Question 27. Section C.6.e, covering Continuous Learning, states that “in addition to presenting a PMEP, the contractor must implement a methodology …for integrating monitoring, evaluation and learning throughout contract implementation.” Section M2.1, moreover, states that offerors need to propose an ‘implementation approach, and how the approach will achieve the goal, purpose and objective of the contract.” Question: Is USAID asking offerors to present both a PMEP and a methodology—or just an overall methodology/approach? If a PMEP is called for, may it be presented as an annex to the technical proposal, outside the 30 page limit?

USAID Response: A draft PMEP is not requested as part of the proposal.

Question 28. Per Section L.7 (d) (4), there is a page limit on the discussion of quality awards or certifications. Question: Would USAID please indicate what the number of pages the limit involves?

USAID Response: This information is not included in the page limitation.

Question 29. Is contracting of individual experts by subcontractor on service contract basis allowed, and under which conditions?

USAID Response: The manner of how individuals are hired is the responsibility of the successful offeror as long as it complies with federal regulations and policies as well as any applicable terms of the contract. Serbian labor laws are applicable to cooperating country nationals.

Question 30. Given Serbia's proximity to Western Europe, would USAID consider using the 935 geocode to allow contractors to subcontract with firms with regional expertise?

USAID Response: No.

Question 31. One of the eligible priority industrial sectors is food processing and not agricultural production, while the Serbia Competitiveness Assessment and Political Economy Analysis, under chapter IV - Sector Analysis, under food processing sector, states that "This discussion considers primary agricultural production together with processing, since many Serbian agricultural products are of premium quality and ready for end users. The process of delivering the product from the field to the consumer is often complex, and although it may not necessarily require processing, there are production and distribution cycles that enable these products to achieve premium prices, justifiably placing them in the food processing industry. Serbia should focus on these higher-end products that could be produced in value chains incorporating farming households and small and medium processors." Is, thus, primary agricultural production, in case its' products are delivered directly to the marker, without processing, eligible as value chain to be supported through the project?

USAID Response: Section L.6.1 Sector Selection and Implementation Approach, states the following: While food processing, metal processing and wood processing are the preferred sectors to be considered for focus within the CSS activity, if an offeror finds that there are insufficient opportunities for or interest in upgrading within these sectors, a sector outside of this group may be considered if properly justified against the selection criteria set forth above. Thus, primary agricultural production could be eligible for consideration as the targeted sector, as long as the offeror can justify the focus on agricultural production against the selection criteria set forth in Section L.6.1.

Question 32. Can USAID please make available the US Embassy Local Compensation Plan and staff categorization?

USAID Response: Please see response to question 19.

Question 33. Local currency payment - what exchange rate is applicable (e.g. National Bank of Serbia or?

USAID Response: USIAD will not pay the Contractor in local currency. For payments that the Contractor must make in local currency, the currency exchange risk is the responsibility of the contractor.

Question 34. Section B.7: Can USAID clarify if second line of the award fee table should read "second six months" as to not imply the second entry in the award fee table means the entire first year award fee?

USAID Response: The second row has been removed.

Question 35. Section H.23: Would USAID allow subcontractors to include a small grants management fee separate from the award fee pool given additional risks of managing the GUC?

USAID Response: Any fee arrangement between a sub and the prime is at the prime’s discretion, so long as it complies with all applicable laws and regulations.

Question 36. Section L.7.1.iv: Since USAID is allowing a small base fee to be proposed, can the Attachment 7 Budget Template be updated to distinguish between the proposed base fee and the maximum award fee pool?

USAID Response: Yes, a revised budget is attached.

Question 37. Section L.7.2.iii: Can USAID confirm that the indirect cost requirements from (i) and

(ii) specifically for time and material subcontractors do not apply for commercial item subcontracts?

USAID Response: Confirmed.

Question 38. In Request for Proposal (RFQ) it is stated that “USAID encourages the participation, to the maximum extent possible, of local Serbian organizations, either as the prime contractor or as subcontractors in a consortium with an international organization.”

[identifying information removed] is considering submitting proposal for this solicitation and we are in the process of assessing the most efficient approach regarding consortium structure. In order to be able to propose most competitive approach that would fit the expectations of USAID mission to Serbia and beneficiaries of this project to the maximum possible extent, we are considering different options for prime contractor role.

In that regard, could you please clarify are there any specific conditions, requirements, exclusion criteria, or any other similar administrative conditions that non-US registered firm would need to meet in order to be eligible to be the prime contractor for this project? Here we are referring to the specific requirements such as for example – to be subject of USAID audits during previous 3 consecutive years; or to be registered under or complied with some specific requirements of USA legal framework; or any other similar requirement?

If there are some requirements or conditions as mentioned above or any other similar, we would kindly ask you to present these within the first round of answers to questions.

USAID Response: There are various requirements that must be complied with, including, for example, that non-U.S. firms must comply with the 937 geographic code for this Request for Proposals. Non-U.S. firms must also have active/current NCAGE, DUNS, and SAM registrations.

They must comply with the requirement for indirect cost information per L.7 (b)(2). They must also comply with the requirements of section K. These are only some of the requirements that Offerors must comply with per the Request for Proposals. It is the responsibility of the Offerors to ensure they fully comply with all requirements.

Question 39. It is envisaged that the proposal can be submitted by the partners as a joint venture / what does this mean? Is that a classical consortium? Can the lead partner submit the application and indicate who the partners are? How do we prove the partnership? Is the Consortia Agreement sufficient or do you need something else?

USAID Response: A joint venture is a commercial enterprise undertaken jointly by two or more parties that otherwise retain their distinct identities. It is a legally registered entity. A consortium is a group of businesses collaborating for a specific purpose, but does not create a new legal entity. With a joint venture (JV), the newly registered JV-entity is the applicant. In a consortium, one firm is the prime offeror and the other partners are subcontractors. For a JV, the registered entity must submit all documentation otherwise required from an Offeror. For a consortium, the prime offeror must submit the documentation required for the prime and subcontractors must provide the information required for subcontractors, per the RFP.

Question 40. In the (d) Part 4 – Past Performance it is said> For contracts not in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), offerors (including all partners of a joint venture) must use the “Past Performance Information Sheet” (included as Attachment 6) to list in an annex to the cost proposal, past performance information for itself and each major subcontractor. But what does it mean: What does the following means> Offerors must not submit past performance information for contracts in PPIRS?

USAID Response: Offerors must not submit past performance information in the Past Performance Information Sheet for contracts contracted by US Government agencies that were evaluated by the contracting agency via a Contractor Performance Assessment Report and the report is in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS).

Question 41. Additionally it is indicated that C.6 Sector Selection ( will be done at time of contract award) / C.6.a Step 1: Sector Selection The Contractor must focus its interventions under the CSS activity on selected value chains in one sector only. The chosen sector is (to be inserted at time of award). What does it actually mean _? When DO WE PROPOSE the sector _? And is it definitely that we focus only on one?

USAID Response: Please see response to question 10.

Question 42. However in C.6.b Step 2: Value Chain Selection Analysis and Value Chain Selection The Contractor must conduct an analysis to select a minimum of two value chains to upgrade. Does it mean within the chosen sector or?

USAID Response: Yes, this means within the chosen sector.

Question 43: Are the individual team members who participated on the USAID Political Economy Analysis and Organizational Network Analysis under the ACDI/VOCA LEO contract task order eligible to participate directly in preparing offers?

USAID Response: No, they are precluded.